A family friend of mine who is a long time real estate investor with several properties has offered to sell me one of his properties.

I think it's the best way to get started when you don't have a ton of money to spare, and you are still learning.1. look up on facebook marketplace what other people are offering their rooms for, that will help you get an idea of what you can charge. 

I feel like it's a way to keep people on the platform and appeasing hosts, instead of offering more supportive customer service. 

Hey Ferrode, Cleveland offers affordable entry point, higher potential cash flow due to lower purchase prices and decent rental income while Columbus offers a stronger job market and population growth potentially leading to higher appreciation over time.

In other word, if seller doesn't want to pay buyer agent and the offer is coming using FHA/VA loan, it would be automatically rejected by seller.What a mess....

4) Would there ever be a benefit to approaching the current owner and offering to buy the property from them, and pay their property tax, which would remove it from the tax sale?

After switching to Hostaway, I definitely made the best decision for me with the great features and support they offer.

He offers a 90 day money back guarantee so long as you submit at least 1 note each month.  

So if my offer is higher than other offers you would reject it?

There are a lot more private lenders offering bank competitive rates and terms for investment properties then there used to be!